All 18 Member States unanimously agreed on the content of the proposed extension and, on that basis formally opened the approval process for the MSG Programme extension. "Never have there been so many decisions taken with an unanimous vote," said EUMETSAT's Director-General Dr. Tillmann Mohr after the event.

The approval process itself made major progress at the meeting, with all 18 Member States voting in favour of the Programme Extension. However, some Member States will have to confirm their commitment and it is expected that by the end of 2003, the MSG Programme Extension will fully be approved.

This extension represents a budget of Euro 391 millions which will be added to the current total envelope of the MSG Programme -- which amounts to Euro 1673 millions at 2003 economic conditions.

In the meantime EUMETSAT has been authorised by Council to start with industrial activities of the MSG Programme Extension by April 2003. This early start will enable the continuity with ongoing industrial activities on MSG-2 and MSG-3 and preserve the affordability of the procurement of the fourth satellite.

The unanimous voting stresses the importance of the programme extension for the continuous availability of the operational MSG service until 2015, at which time a Meteosat Third Generation system is expected to become available.

This reflects the consensus on the critical contribution of EUMETSAT satellite services to weather forecasting and climate monitoring, and the commitment of the Member States to the development of European meteorological satellite systems.

The Council guides the general policy of EUMETSAT and its financial commitments and is empowered to decide by unanimous vote, by a two-thirds majority or by a simple majority. Each of the Member States is represented and the national delegation includes a participant from the respective National Meteorological Service.

The Council meets at least twice a year. The Council is supported by several subsidiary delegate bodies, including the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), the Scientific and Technical Group (STG), the Administrative and Finance Group (AFG) and the Working Group on data Policy (WGP). These bodies also meet two or three times a year, preparing the decisions of the full Council.

The first of the Meteosat Second Generation satellite series was launched at the end of August 2002 and is currently in commissioning phase. The new system will offer more frequent and advanced imagery and is one example of successful European cooperation. Over the past 25 years data from Meteosat satellites has not only provided vital inputs to Europe's meteorological services and their forecasting systems but has also been invaluable to research communities in Europe and elsewhere in a wide variety of fields including meteorology, climate, agriculture, veterinary and environmental monitoring in general.

EUMETSAT is an intergovernmental organisation that establishes and maintains operational meteorological satellites for 18 European States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom).

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